October 13-15, 2022 Participation of the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences in the events of the XIV RISA Convention

Faculty of the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences took an active part in the XIV Convention of the Russian International Studies Association (RISA), which was held based on MGIMO of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on October 13-15, 2022.

Within the framework of the event, a special session "Russia-Africa" was held, where the director of the African Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia Vsevolod Tkachenko, director of the Institute for African Studies (IAfr) of the Russian Academy of Sciences Irina Abramova, Stanislav Surovtsev, Ambassador of Algeria to Russia Mr. Smail Benamara, Minister Plenipotentiary with the rank of Ambassador of Ethiopia Mr. Uriyat Cham Ugala, Deputy Head of Rossotrudnichestvo Dmitry Polikanov, and Executive Secretary of the Program Committee of the Russia-Africa: What farther?" Igor Tkachenko.

During the event, experts discussed the prospects for Russian-African cooperation, the current state of joint projects, as well as possible ways to intensify the partnership. In her speech, Director of the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences I. O. Abramova drew attention to the approaches and positions of African countries when voting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. Irina Abramova also noted the importance of practical steps that the Russian Federation can take to strengthen partnerships with the countries of the macroregion.

The session was followed by a round table “Africa after globalization: challenges, threats, opportunities”, which was moderated by Ivan Loshkarev. Employees of the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences presented their views on the peculiarities of the foreign policy of African states.

As part of the Youth Day of the XIV RISA Convention, the Council of Young Scientists of the Institute for African Studies, together with the African Club of the NSO MGIMO, organized a round table on the topic “Africa in the new realities of international relations: trends and prospects”. Vasily Sidorov, Chairman of the CMU of the IAF RAS, Ph.D. in Economics, Senior Research Fellow of Centre for Southern African Studies, took part in it as an expert as well as employees of the Center for Global and Strategic Studies of the Institute for Strategic Studies of the IAF RAS Andrey Berezhnov, Polina Kulakova, Varvara Mitina. During the round table, the participants touched upon various aspects of the development of the continent at the present stage, including issues of energy supply, further economic integration, and building a unified political strategy for the macroregion.

Summing up, the results of the event, obtained with the direct participation of the staff of the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, will contribute to the formation of an updated agenda for Russian-African relations on the eve of the second Russia-Africa Summit.